Padel has started becoming the new off-track pastime for most F1 drivers in the past few years. Especially during the off-season and breaks between races, drivers like Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Max Verstappen, and Carlos Sainz play this game to get their minds off racing. Now, even Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll are on this bandwagon. The Aston Martin duo have reportedly challenged other drivers, claiming they could easily win. However, Leclerc begs to differ!
According to a video on Twitter (now X), Leclerc is speaking at a fan event when the host asks him about Alonso and Stroll’s padel challenge. To this, the Monegasque replied. “No, no. I honestly think that Carlos [Sainz] and I would be the best”
The #16 driver explained that Sainz has been playing Padel for a long time. Meanwhile, Leclerc himself started playing the game in the last 3-4 years. The 26-year-old highlighted that other drivers are new to Padel, and so the Ferrari duo can easily beat them.
Oftentimes, drivers take to social media to post pictures and videos of them playing Padel during their off time. Last year, Verstappen went to play a doubles padel match with Lando Norris, Alex Albon, and George Russell.
In fact, Albon even had some banter about Padel with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. The Thai driver mentioned on a newly started Williams podcast how Piastri’s skills in padel are not that great.
To this, the Australian driver quickly responded by showing one of Albon’s clips struggling to play well in a game himself. All in all, padel has become the new pastime for F1 drivers and they love to take it to a new level with banter and challenges.
Fernando Alonso once also gifted a Padel racquet to Charles Leclerc
Fernando Alonso hit the perfect chord during F1’s 2023 Secret Santa challenge. Alonso gifted Charles Leclerc with a Padel racquet, knowing the 26-year-old loves to play the sport. Leclerc was also quite happy to get this gift from the Spaniard.
The Monegasque also noticed that Alonso promoted his own former brand – Kimoa – in the process by gifting a padel racquet that was from his own company. The Aston Martin driver founded this brand but now only acts as its brand ambassador, after the company was sold in 2021 to a US group named Revolution Brands.
Regardless, Leclerc liked the Kimoa racquet and appreciated Alonso’s gesture by saying, “Oh nice! It’s a Padel racquet. That’s actually a really good gift. Nice!”
